Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
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Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#2Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-...
> The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as part of a 3.5-mile tunnel connecting the historic station to the Long Island Rail Road. But the accountant could only identify about 700 jobs that needed to be done, according to three project supervisors. Officials could not find any reason for the other 200 people to be there.
> “Nobody knew what those people were doing, if they were doing anything,” said Michael Horodniceanu, who was then the head of construction at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs transit in New York. The workers were laid off, Mr. Horodniceanu said, but no one figured out how long they had been employed. “All we knew is they were each being paid about $1,000 every day.”
> The discovery... occurred in 2010 and was not disclosed to the public
This sort of behavior is unfortunately commonplace.
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#3Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
Why would that be different from everywhere else though?
Infrastructure projects are always a prime danger for corruption. (large sums of money with customers that aren't under financial pressures like a company, actual or effective cost-plus contracts, chance for politicians to get "lobbied" and make lasting connections, ...)
I think it's the same everywhere in the world, with varying degrees of dubiousness.
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#4Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
get out
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#5Nationalize construction industry. Give workers salaries and remove profit incentive. No more waste, no more bidding contracts, no more graft.
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#6Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
Regardless of whether it is cost effective to do so or not, each and every one of the beneficiaries from such corruption should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law, no matter how expensive it gets, to set a precedent so others might think twice in the future.
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#7Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
The California High Speed Rail was also corruption.
It's all over everywhere, because nobody is accountable for it, except the people over-charging, while simultaneously pointing out that they are taking all the liability when things go wrong (and someone actually tries to prosecute).
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#8I'm no expert, but I would wager that costs are so high due to a mix of: state capture, a complex regulatory scheme, and relatively minor process inefficiency throughout the value chain that when taken as a whole slow down large projects.
The Congressional Act cited in the article explicitly states a timeline of 9 months for the GAO report to be delivered and yet it was 7 months late.
Many state budgets have not reached pre-2008 levels and regulatory agencies are ripe to be exploited by labor groups, lobbying, private property owners, etc.
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#9Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
Why would that be different from everywhere else though? Infrastructure projects are always a prime danger for corruption. (large sums of money with customers that aren't under financial pressures like a company, actual or effective cost-plus contracts, chance for politicians to get "lobbied" and make lasting connections, ...) I think it's the same everywhere in the world, with varying degrees of dubiousness.
> Why would that be different from everywhere else though?
Corruption in New York is a whole different animal than any other state. New York has, hands down, the most corrupt state government in the country.[0]
As just one example, the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, openly orchestrated an illegal[1] coup to ensure that Republicans maintained control of the state senate, despite losing control in the then-recent elections. He did this because it ensured that he had unilateral power to decide which laws were even brought to a vote in the state legislature, so he could essentially pre-veto any legislation behind closed doors, instead of having to veto a potentially popular piece of legislation openly after the legislature passed it.
Or, on the topic of public transit, Cuomo stole $5 million from the MTA (public transit for NYC metro area) and gave it to upstate ski resorts that he has a personal interest in[2].
[0] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/how-new-york...
[1] A judge later ruled that the caucus was illegally formed and ordered them to return the money, though I don't know if they ever actually did.
[2] https://gothamist.com/2017/07/10/mta_tips_down_k_val.php
Re: Why We Can’t Figure Out Why Infrastructure Is So Expensive
#10Kind of weird to use a picture of the East Side Access project in New York as the lede. New York is a whole different case from the rest of the country. We do know why infrastructure in New York is so absurdly expensive. Outright theft and fraud is a big culprit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... > The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as par…
Regardless of whether it is cost effective to do so or not, each and every one of the beneficiaries from such corruption should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law, no matter how expensive it gets, to set a precedent so others might think twice in the future.
> Regardless of whether it is cost effective to do so or not, each and every one of the beneficiaries from such corruption should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law, no matter how expensive it gets, to set a precedent so others might think twice in the future.
I think you underestimate the extent of corruption in New York state government.
New Yorkers unfortunately can't do anything about it, because a combination of state laws have ceded electoral power to a handful of local pay-to-play clubs[0] which determine which candidates are permitted to run (unopposed) in elections.
[0] Each district is controlled by a local club; membership in these starts around $1000/year, and these clubs are responsible for deciding when a local candidate receives a primary challenge. If the clubs don't approve a challenge, then the primary election is cancelled.